One of America's first bitcoin ATMs was fried by a lightning strike

, the web site of The Arizona Republic newspaper, lightning hit the Booksmans Entertainment Exchange in Tucson last week, causing a power surge that fried some of the bitcoin ATM's electrical components. Owner-operator Brian Williams told a reporter that he'd started operating the $1,000 machine on July 14 . “It's kind of like getting punched in the face,” Williams told The Republic. He also stated that he'd been able to remove and account for all the machine's hard currency, and that the damage had no impact on anyone's accounts.